Hoffa search halts in Oakland Township; no evidence of remains found

The Oakland Press/VAUGHN GURGANIAN
Television crews pack up their equipment across the street from the site of the FBI's search for Jimmy Hoffa in Oakland Township, Wednesday. The FBI called off the search after nearly three days of looking for the remains of Hoffa, who disappeared in 1975.

After the search for the remains of labor icon Jimmy Hoffa was called off Wednesday morning in Oakland Township, the attorney for the reputed mobster who pointed to the FBI's latest dig spot said he doesn't see another search happening -- ever again.

"This is probably the last dig," said David Chasnick, who represents tipster and former Detroit mob underboss Anthony "Tony Z" Zerilli.

Chasnick said there were a number of conflicting details surrounding the search that makes Zerilli's tip -- and the mobster's 21-page manuscript claiming how Hoffa was killed and where he was buried -- no less credible to him.

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Chasnick, a Novi-based attorney, said it was surprising -- after Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard estimated Tuesday that workers would be on the site another 48 hours -- the search was called off Wednesday morning, just a few hours after digging was scheduled to have begun for the day.

The cancellation, he said, does not make Zerilli less credible.

Chasnick added that the area being investigated was smaller than the area he thought should be excavated.

There has been a "ton of investigation involved with this. ... It was a long, long process," he said. "(Zerilli) went to the FBI before I had been involved."

Zerilli still believes Hoffa's body is still out there on the property, added Chasnick.

"Maybe (Hoffa's body) was moved at some point," he said.

This recent dig will be forgotten quickly, he stated.

"In a few days no one will hear about this story," said Chasnick.

FBI Spec. Agent in charge Robert D. Foley III said: "After a diligent search pursuant to our responsibilities under the search warrant, we did not uncover any evidence relevant to the investigation on James Hoffa. At this point, we'll be closing down the excavation operation and returning the property to the property owner in the condition in which it was found."

The affidavit for the search warrant remains sealed and Foley said he would not disclose much more information about its contents.

The investigation included two excavators, forensic anthropologists from Michigan State University, two Michigan State Police cadaver dogs and about 40 agents at any given time. After more than two days of searching, authorities called off the search of about an acre of private land off Buell Road near Adams Road.

The search came several months after reputed mobster Zerilli, 85, went in front of television cameras and told reporters he could point out where the labor leader's body rested. Zerilli also wrote a manuscript -- which can be downloaded at hoffafound.com -- detailing an account of how Hoffa was taken to the area in Oakland Township and buried alive. He wrote that after Hoffa's disappearance, three local mobsters drove him to what was then an old house and barn on the Buell Road property and enclosed him in a shallow grave.

Zerilli also was said to have been meeting with the FBI as an informant for at least seven months prior to the dig, which began Monday.

Foley would not comment on whether Zerilli took a polygraph to either confirm or deny the plausibility of the tip, but said it was credible enough to launch an investigation.

Contrary to speculation that the investigation cost millions, Foley said the cost did not come close to that figure.

Since Hoffa's disappearance in 1975, tipsters have called for searches of what's left of Hoffa's body in more than 15 locations, including under the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, south of the most recent excavation site. Another intriguing tip came in the 1980s, when an ex-hitman who claimed to be close to Hoffa told members of the U.S. Senate that Hoffa's body was ground up, stuffed in a steel barrel and dumped into the Florida Everglades.

On Tuesday, an inconclusive hit on animal bones at the site by Michigan State Police cadaver dogs gave pause to officials and media -- from local and national outlets -- and led investigators from one location to another that was also an area "consistent with the information we have," said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard. Local and national media crews who had been at the site for the duration of the search began to disperse shortly after Foley's announcement.

Foley said he was not disappointed with the lack of remains in the investigation because the case remains open, and new leads could come forward at any time.

Reactions to cancellation

Waterford Police Chief Daniel McCaw said the FBI is obligated to check leads. He also said the Hoffa family deserves consideration. "If your relative was swept off the streets, wouldn't you want to know what happened so you could provide a proper burial?" McCaw asked.

At the Hoffa excavation site Wednesday, Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe said he understands there has been criticism of officials working at the property, but given the scope and the information that was obtained, his department along with the FBI and local officials had a responsibility to be at the site.

"Any criticism, quite frankly, is totally uncalled for," he said. "We were happy to assist and be here."

At one time, Hoffa lived in the Lake Orion area. Police Chief Jerry Narsh said he has seen every year "another aging crime family member (wanting) to point to a location. It's unfortunate that then the FBI has to dedicate resources and make every effort to check it out. It's an unfortunate waste of time and resources. However, for the family, it is a constant source of pain. It would bring closure if he could be found."

Narsh said he is always skeptical when a source goes first to media instead of the FBI.

West Bloomfield Police Chief Mike Patton said he is aware people complain about the cost of the searches.

"I am confident the FBI has vetted the information," he said.

"For every one hole they dig, they have probably ruled out 100 others."

He said the excavating incurs expense, but added, "I think law enforcement is damned if they do, damned if they don't. They were there two days. They weren't tearing down Comerica Park."

The FBI also searched for Hoffa at the 85-acre Hidden Dreams Farm on East Maple Road in Milford Township in 2006. That dig was estimated to cost $250,000.

As for Wednesday's cancellation in Oakland Township, Thomas Lindberg, Milford Police Chief, who worked in Novi in 2006, said, "The FBI had an obligation (to excavate) if they felt the information was credible." He said they restored the farm area in Milford. "They restored it to a condition better than when they started," Lindberg said.

Readers speak out

During more than two days of the investigation focused on finding Hoffa's remains, readers on-location and on the web commented on money spent for the search, possible other Hoffa burial locations, and even provided a bit of comic relief.

Don Garriott said Hoffa is in "my backyard, I have been holding off tilling so as to not disturb any evidence, but I am sure he is in the 15' x 20' space where I was going to put my garden...."

Grow Farmington wrote that Hoffa is "cremated and sprinkled on someone's lawn."

Michele Arquette-Palermo stated, "I'd say the excavation site is a bit larger than the size of a party tent as they described. Unless of course their idea of a party tent is one that fits 5,000 people."

Kim LeBeau Rastall suspects Hoffa "is with Elvis."

Daniel Wilson wrote, "How much money was wasted for this useless search -- and why keep looking? It's a dead issue unless there is valid proof he is in a certain spot."

Brian Reid said officials need to announce a "$1 million reward and immunity for anyone who knows where he is buried and can lead them to remains. Then announce a week later they have found the remains and case is closed."

Staff writer Carol Hopkins contributed to this story. John Turk covers the Oakland County Board of Commissioners, police and general assignment. He can be reached at 248-745-4613.